Trancendence
by BlackLadyCharon
Summary: Somehow, the pranks were just stepping stones on their way to each other.  AxelXDemyx


July 11

**Title:** Transendence  
**Author:** Blackladycharon

**A/N: **Third prompt that I took for springkink. Originally, I intended to write something entirely different with this. However, that plot idea petered out, and this one took its place. I hope it's better than I think, since it didn't turn out quite like I thought it would. Several other members of the KH cast have wandered in, unsurprisingly. Much of the inspiration for this comes from an old show called Bordertown. I guess this could also be called AU.

Disclaimer: Kalliope the Mewthree: Blackladycharon doesn't own Square Enix or the Kingdom Hearts series, so it's pointless to sue her. She's making no money off of this Prompt: 29. Kingdom Hearts 2, Axel/Demyx: Mischief/Pranks - "Stop it, you jerk!"

TRANSCENDENCE

"Hey kid, give ya a 1000 munny for that Chocobo chick."

The boy stopped, struggling with the unhappy chocobo chick that had been slated for dinner until a few seconds ago. Dark blue eyes peered out from under his brown bangs as he studied the adult before him. The man was crouched down, hand out with the money on it, a wicked grin that perfectly suited his crimson hair and aquamarine eyes curving his lips. The adult had to be mad. A chocobo chick was only worth a 100 munny. However, not being averagely stupid, the boy nodded.

"Excellent!" The adult tossed him the munny, then took the chick. Standing up, ignoring the heavy beak snapping at him and the scrawny legs kicking their level best, he hauled the bird along, chuckling.

"Bird, you're gonna help me get even for the tonberry in my closet. Not to mention that you'll get to grow up rather than being stew. 'Bout the time you get big enough to ride, I'm gonna need a new mount." The man got a bag over the chick's head, silencing it for the moment as he opened the door to a building. Inside was an office, one that had two desks, and a line painted down the middle of it. Kairi Sinclair, the local doctor, called it the demilitarized zone. Which in many ways it was. The red head strode over to another door, opened it, and with a cheerful 'CATCH!' tossed the chocobo in.

"WARK WARK WARK!"

"YEAURGH!!!" There was a lot of bellowing, chocobo noises, and crashing before the door flew open, the chick being the first out, wings flapping, beak clicking in annoyance. Shortly after it came the other occupant of the office, his blonde brown hair tangled, the shaving cream on his face sporting chocobo down. His bright blue eyes were murderous, and he snarled at the other.

"Of course you know, this means war, Axel."

Kairi Sinclair knew the dangers of living in a border town. Particularly one on the Radiant Garden and Hollow Bastion's borderline. There were bandits, wild monsters, people trying to sneak in or out depending on which side they were or weren't on, lack of items that were commonplace in the bigger cities. If anyone asked her, the on going war between Marshall Axel Himura and Demyx Clearwater of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police more than made up for it. The two spent all the time they weren't working thinking up more and more complex pranks. Some of which were actually dangerous. The tonberry, for instance. Well, at least it hadn't had a knife as most of its species seemed to. Though how they got them was beyond Kairi. Either stealing or making them took far more intelligence then the average monster had, and nobody had ever managed to observe tonberries long enough to find out which method of obtaining knives they used.

"YEOWTCH! OUCH! Stop it, you jerk!"

"Well, if you hadn't fallen off, I wouldn't be picking cacti needles out of your hide."

"Well, if you hadn't stopped, I wouldn't have fallen off!"

Kairi sighed, opened the door, and handed a bottle to Demyx.

"Here's the iodine you requested." She left with Axel's renewed howls ringing in her ears.

Demyx glared at the remains of his gun. The Kingdom Key was the crappiest model in existence, but that was the force issued gun. The fact that the damned thing fell apart with almost no effort seemed to be constantly overlooked. Axel drifted in, shaking his head, scattering snowflakes. Demyx turned his glare on the red head, who lifted his hands up in supplication.

"Oi, oi, it's Christmas, Dems. Peace on earth and all." He looked over at the dismantled gun, clucking his tongue.

"Piece o' crap. Here, Merry Christmas. Don't say I never get you anything." Demyx eyed the bright colored package on his desk warily. Axel had tried his best, but the wrapping still looked like a hyper four year old had done it. Demyx opened the paper, then the box, and stared. Nestled carefully in folds of paper lay an Oblivion model gun. One of the most expensive and longest lasting guns on the market. Demyx whirled around to protest, to find Axel giving him a strangely serious grin.

"That oughta keep your hide intact, Mountie."

"It's too…"

"Finish that sentence and I'll knock your teeth in, Demyx. Besides, it's rude to refuse a gift based on its price."

"…" Dead silence followed.

Axel's grin widened a fraction. "Good boy."

Neither of them could say the exact moment they transcended from 'friends who absolutely hate each others guts' to 'lovers'. They could pinpoint the first time they'd ended up ripping each other's clothes off and rolling into bed, after the incident with the bandit Ansem, but when they'd fallen in love remained a mystery. Still, it was a little town, and in little towns, secrets get out fast. Especially that the local law officers had an 'arrangement' with each other. For a little town, it was an open minded, almost liberal place. The elders got together, deemed that the relationship was not harming the two's work or anything else, and since it made them marginally easier to live with, it was ignored.

The door to the office slammed open and closed as Demyx stormed in, glaring at Axel who raised an eyebrow before swinging his boots down off of his desk. The Mountie appeared to be in a foul mood for some reason. Actually, he'd been in a foul mood ever since the stagecoach had deposited a smallish, blonde haired female with no tact, no manners, and an obsession with Axel in town. Not that Axel had the faintest interest in Larxene Clayton.

"Were you flirting with her?" Axel raised an eyebrow.

"Dems, I flirt with everything in a skirt. It's harmless. Besides," He smiled flirtatiously up at his red clad lover. "you're the only person I sleep with." The gentle, sincere tones calmed Demyx down as nothing else did. At least for a few seconds.

"Quit flirting with her. She takes it far too seriously. She was flaunting some ring she bought for herself, claiming you gave it to her as a sweetheart gift. Kairi tried talking to her, but that didn't work. Hell, Zexion down at the store flat out told her and she just said he was lying to try to get her." Axel's lips compressed into a grim look.

"Okay, love, I'll quit. Sounds like I've given her the wrong idea."

"S-stop teasing! I'm trying to get this done!"

"Aww, can I help it if you have such a nibble-able neck, Dems?" Axel leaned over and nibbled Demyx's ear instead. It was fun to watch the Mountie squirm, blushing from arousal and embarrassment. He placed a quick kiss on one of the nips, grinning at the shudder that went through the body beneath him.

"I have a penchant for men in uniform, lover, but a bigger penchant for them out of uniform." He began unbuttoning the coat and shirt that Demyx was wearing, grinning when his lover leaned back to allow him better access. "Someone seems eager."

"Axel…"

The only warning Demyx had was the door opening and then the glint of the knife as Larxene started screaming. The first blow hit him full in the face, causing bloody agony as his hand flew up to cover his ruined eye while he groped frantically for his gun. A few more glancing blows struck him, then he Axel covered him, and he heard the sickening puncture sound as the knife tore into flesh and blood. Demyx looked up to see a vaguely surprised, startled look on Axel's face before the spark of fire and life faded out. Uncomprehending, Demyx stared at the body that had once housed that vibrant soul before the knife skimmed down his ribs, calling him back to the present just as Kairi and Riku ShadeWalker, the blacksmith for the town, burst in. Between Riku and the gun, Larxene was subdued and thrown into a cell while Kairi gently closed Axel's eyes. She hustled Demyx out the door and to her clinic, patching him up when they got there.

"What happened, Demyx?"

"She… she walked in on us. It was so sudden, I don't even know what she was saying. And then," Demyx's breath caught in a choked sob. "he took the blow. She was going to kill me, but Axel took the blow."

Kairi wrapped her arms around Demyx, rocking him back and forth as he started to cry. She crooned nonsense at him, knowing it wouldn't help. When you lost your lover, the one you truly loved beyond all else, nothing helped. And nothing, except time, healed.

The trial was fast, the verdict insured. The new Marshall, Roxas Nimon, arrived after a month. Demyx smiled, and treated the boy like a younger brother. Still, no one was surprised when a little over a year later Demyx took the wrong chance against a group of bandits and got himself shot. The burial was quick, and with the arrival of the new Mountie, one Sora Prentice, the gossip about Axel and Demyx was quietly buried and forgotten, for even the dead deserve respect.

Fin


End file.
